Four Talvikki Sweaters

Happy 2020 everyone!  This is my first post of the year, and I'm looking forward to a great sewing year.  I've got all kinds of plans!  I had been thinking about making some new turtleneck sweaters, when I saw the Talvikki Sweater pattern from the Finnish pattern company- Named.  It had some really interesting shaping darts at the neckline, and I liked how boxy it was.   So, I decided that it would be a fun take on a turtleneck and gave it a try- actually four tries!  This is a version that I made for my daughter from vintage velour.  I've actually been holding on to this piece of fabric since the 70's!!!!  Doesn't it look great on her?

I shortened the sleeves so that they wouldn't need to be rolled up, but otherwise, made the pattern exactly as designed by Named patterns.  Here's their version and line drawing.

This first sweater I made was made from a metallic black ponte knit.  It had more of a foil look to it when I bought it, but when I preshrunk the fabric, a lot of the sparkles washed away.  That actually was fine by me- I like the more subtle glitter effect.  My husband called it my "disco top"!  Here you can see the darted neckline up-close.

 In the side view, you can see that the back is considerably longer than the front.  I did find that the vent went up a little too high for me, so I lowered it about 1-1/2".  I also didn't want to roll up the sleeves, so I just shortened my sleeve about 1-1/2".

I think that the neckline of this top is a natural complement to a coat or jacket, so I'll show you some of my combinations that I found in my wardrobe.  I made this light blue bell shaped coat from a gorgeous boiled wool about 5 years ago.  The pattern was Burda Style magazine 11/2013, #116.   I originally didn't like it- thought it looked to "old lady", but I actually really love it now!  Sometimes you just have to let things grow on you.   

For this next Talvikki, I used a very firm sweatshirt fleece.  I was a little worried that it would be hard to get over my neck with so little stretch, but it was totally fine. I made the 44/46 size, so your mileage may vary if you make a smaller size.

I like how it works with my "caponcho", a cross between a cape and poncho that I made 2 years ago with Vogue 8344. The unusual color combination has actually been challenging finding something to wear with it, but I think that the heathered grey is working here.

In case you are wondering, this is what the darts look like from the inside of the top.  I used a tracing wheel and tracing paper to mark mine.  The darts are definitely a little tricky to make, but overall, this is a very quick project- I timed myself on the last one, and I finished it in about one hour (excluding cutting time!)

On this light blue ponte knit version, you can see the back also has some neckline dart shaping- they are just shorter darts.

This coat was made 3 years ago using an Isaac Mizrahi stadium coat design in Vogue 1479.   Working with a plaid design is always challenging.  But, I really love making coats that aren't run of the mill, and often make at least 1 a year- sometimes more.  This does however, mean that I have coats all over my house in all of the closets, because I never get rid of any of them! 


So, there you go- I made the Talvikki in a velour, a sweatshirt fleece, and two ponte knits, and I think that they all worked well!   I'm really drawn to the aesthetic of Named patterns, and have purchased quite a few more, so you'll probably be seeing some more versions of their patterns here pretty soon!

Happy Sewing!

Ann